


Wedding Song: The Prologue

by ladymidnight721



Series: Exploring the world of Hadestown [3]
Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Hadestown - Mitchell, Hadestown - Mitchell (Broadway) RPF
Genre: F/M, Falling In Love, Inspired by Hadestown, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Other, Overbearing Parent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:42:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29312796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladymidnight721/pseuds/ladymidnight721
Summary: Persephone had only ever known her mother's farms and gardens, but everything changes when a dark stranger meets her at the gate. Suddenly, Persephone is ready to throw everything she knows away for her pursuit of happiness.A multi-chapter fic where I flesh out how I think Persephone and Hades married in the Hadestown universe. Naturally, there will be some deviation from the actual mythology, but hopefully it'll be fluffy and fun.
Relationships: Demeter & Hades (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Demeter & Persephone (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Hades/Persephone (Hadestown)
Series: Exploring the world of Hadestown [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2129532
Kudos: 11





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is just the prologue, don't worry, there'll be a few more chapters! There will be about 6 chapters, including this Prologue and an Epilogue. 
> 
> The reception to my first fic in this Exploring Hadestown series has been so much more than I could have imagined, thank you so much! I hope I can keep you entertained with the rest of the stories I'm planning!

The tall, stately woman paced her garden, looking for any imperfections among the hundreds of plants that she had cared for over the years. Caring for her flowers and fruits was therapeutic to her; so many things in her life were out of her control, that it was extremely cathartic to exert some control over the plants around her. In some ways, she loved plants more than anything else in the world.

That is, everything except for one.

In an almost compulsive act, Demeter turned around to her large farmhouse and peered up at a fourth-floor window. Her daughter’s bedroom. Thankfully, the shutters were still closed, the lights were off, and Persephone was still safe. Demeter sighed, feeling a little bit of relief.

Persephone, the newest goddess to enter the world. The goddess of sunshine, flowers, and fruit-baring trees. It was no coincidence that on the day of Persephone’s birth, all of the flowers in her garden blossomed bigger than they had ever bloomed before. A pure, kind soul, untouched by the corruption of the great gods of the universe.

And hopefully, it would stay that way.

Deftly, Demeter snipped off a couple of wisteria blossoms to put in the foyer’s flower arrangement, and headed back into the house. She closed the door softly behind her, lest she wake Persephone, and took off her gardening shoes in favor of soft wool house shoes. After placing the wisteria in a large urn, she slowly made her way upstairs, stepping lightly so the stairs wouldn’t creak. Although she was a goddess, and still in her prime, Demeter was out of breath as she reached the fourth floor.

‘I really should get one of those new elevator things Zeus told me about,’ she thought as she walked down the hallway, before stopping in front of Persephone’s door.

Demeter opened it slowly, trying to make as little sound as possible. A thin ray of light fell on Persephone’s sleeping face. As usual, she had cast off her blankets, which laid in a crumpled heap near her footboard, but she still looked comfy and peaceful. Demeter smiled; Persephone looked younger than she was, still looking like a little girl, even though she was well into her adolescence. Creeping across the room, she picked up the blanket and draped it over Persephone’s figure, before leaving the room and closing the door.

Content with her evening, Demeter went to her own rooms on the second floor to prepare for bed. As she sat in front of her art-deco vanity, she consoled herself with the fact that Persephone was happy here, in this large farmhouse, on a massive farm where she could go where she pleased. Persephone had no needs or wants, and therefore no desire to go outside the confines of their compound. And hopefully she never would; the world of the gods was tumultuous, and in a way dangerous, and Persephone had shown no interest in joining them.

And why should she? Demeter shuddered to think of what would happen if her brother, Zeus, cajoled her into his bed and then cast her aside? And then, what of Hera, ever wrathful to her husband’s mistresses? Even if that didn’t happen, there were still many of her family and colleagues who would love to manipulate her precious daughter.

As she laid down in her goose down bed, Demeter gave thanks for her daughter’s happiness, and her last thought before going to sleep was that there was no reason for Persephone to ever leave the farm. Even if there was, Demeter wouldn’t allow it. Nothing would spoil her daughter’s happiness.


	2. Chapter 1

Sunlight poked its way through the willow branches, caressing the young woman’s face as she dreamed of flowers and trees heavy with fruit.

While she wasn’t the Olympian’s vision of beauty, her strong features and bright, intelligent eyes captured many a man’s attention. Not that she cared; she was uninterested in the matters of love and romance, seemingly more interested in taking care of her mother’s extensive gardens. However, that was just what Persephone made everyone believe.

In truth, she was starting to get bored of the endless sunny days and the constantly blooming gardens she grew up with. Even though she had been told that the world outside the farm was a cruel, cold one, she couldn’t help but feel curious. If it was that terrible, why couldn’t she learn it for herself? Many of the visitors that came to the farm to do business with her mother had mentioned great journeys that shaped them as people, why couldn’t she do the same?

Persephone had never mentioned such things to her mother; she could see how overprotective Demeter was, and she would never listen to any argument Persephone could bring forward. So, for now, Persephone just had to wait and see what would come next.

A breeze rustled the branches above her, the noise just loud enough to wake Persephone from her slumber. She slowly sat up from her place on the ground between two roots, stretching to wake her muscles as well.

Pulling her knees to her chest, she ran her eyes over the garden she had fallen asleep in. The willow garden, with many of the weeping trees and a tinkling brook that ran through the miniature forest. It was one of her favorites; not only were the trees beautiful, it was a great place to hide away from the stifling aura of the large farmhouse. But, alas, Persephone had spent too much time here today. With a sigh, she stood up and brushed the debris from her skirts. It was time to do her rounds and check the rest of the gardens on her mother’s estates.

Persephone closed the wrought iron gate behind her as she left the willow garden, heading towards the rose garden near the gate of the farm. Another of Persephone’s favorites, the bright colors and sweet scent of the thousands of roses always soothed her, no matter how bad she might be feeling. On her way, she picked up the bucket of used coffee grounds she kept around, knowing that she might have to fertilize some of the bushes today.

The short, wooden gate squeaked as she opened it, as it always did. The scent of the blooming roses hit her as she stepped into the garden, and Persephone couldn’t help but smile as she entered. All the bushes and blossoms in the garden seemed to turn to her as she entered. While tending the gardens of her mother’s estates was always a pleasant task, Persephone always relished taking care of the roses. Even the stunted, weak bushes were beautiful to her; every single flower in this garden brought her a kind of joy and peace that little else could do.

She quickly went to work, checking each bush for signs of disease, adding coffee grounds to the bushes that were starting to wilt, watering each bush with care, and trimming the old or dead blossoms from each bush. The work was labor intensive, gardening was always much more work than people would believe, but Persephone relished in it. The sun warmed her shoulders, and the wind played with her hair as she delicately snipped a rose to bring inside.

As Persephone gathered up her things to leave – her work unfortunately done – her eye caught a shape outside the fences of the farm. It was a young man, about as old as she was, and devilishly handsome, just looking at the garden in wonder. His black eyes were alight with joy as he stared at the roses in front of him, and then he met Persephone’s eyes.

A spark went down Persephone’s spine. The man’s gaze was intense, but kind and admiring at the same time. The rose she had been holding fell from her fingers as she and the stranger just looked at each other.

After what felt like a millennium, he cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Um, I-I beg your pardon,” he said quietly, looking away with embarrassment. “I must be at the wrong house. I thought this was Demeter’s farm.”

Persephone couldn’t help but blush. His voice was rich, and deep, and it sent more tingles through her skin.

“No, no, you’re right,” Persephone quickly said. She didn’t want this stranger to leave, even if she didn’t know him. “Do you… do you have a meeting with her?”

The man looked relieved. “Yes, I have. May I, uh, come in?” he asked.

“Of course,” Persephone replied, running out of the garden to open the gate for this stranger. Of course, Persephone wasn’t supposed to let people in the gate, even those she knew, but mother didn’t have to know that.

“Follow me, I’ll show you to the farmhouse,” she said cheerfully, smiling at the man in front of her. He gave a small, embarrassed smile in return.

“I apologize, but I haven’t introduced myself,” he said, walking silently behind Persephone as they made their way to the large house. “My name is Hades, I am one of Zeus’ brothers.”

Persephone felt her heart skip. Her mother had mentioned Hades once or twice, and she had always described him as a cold, greedy, and cruel man. But the Hades in front of her seemed kind, polite, and awkward. His shabby clothes didn’t scream greediness either, it said he was a poor man. Despite the stories her mother told, Persephone couldn’t help but feel intrigued by Hades.

“I’m Persephone,” she said in return. “Demeter’s daughter.”

Since Persephone was walking in front of him, she couldn’t see Hades look of dejection. He had thoughts of getting to know the woman in front of him, but with Demeter as her mother, it would be impossible.

They walked in silence for several minutes, until the façade of the magnificent farmhouse came into view. Hades slowed, taking in the sights of the big house in front of him, but Persephone marched up the front stairs without pausing. She opened the door and looked back to him.

“Are you coming?” she asked.

Hades shook himself from his reverie. “Yes, but… aren’t you coming as well?”

Persephone shook her head. “I’m still covered in dirt from working, plus I have equipment to wash and put away.” She kept herself from wincing, remembering that she had left all her tools back at the rose garden.

Hades rubbed the back of his neck, looking like he was trying to pep himself up for something.

“Persephone, I, uh, have a question,” he said, looking at the ground. “Do you… Are you always tending those roses around this time?”

Persephone felt butterflies rise in her stomach. “Yes, why?” she replied.

“I was wondering, if maybe you would – you would like me to stop by there some other time? Just to talk,” he added hastily.

Warmth blossomed on Persephone’s cheeks, and she nodded.

“I’d really like that, Hades,” she said softly.

Hades beamed at her response. “That’s—that’s great!” he said. “So then, I’ll, uh, see you soon?”

Persephone smiled. “Yes, see you soon.”

With that, Hades passed her to enter the entryway of the large house. As Persephone turned to walk back to the garden, she didn’t notice Hades staring longingly after her as the door closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Chapter 1 done! I had the prologue done for a while, but it took surprisingly little time to get the first chapter done. I hope I didn't ramble on too much t_t. 
> 
> I wanna take more time with Persephone and Hades' romance, and therefore deviate heavily from the original mythology. The only thing in Hadestown canon that mentions their meeting is that Hades originally saw her in her mother's garden (Epic III from the Off-Broadway version of the play) and that they married for love. So no kidnapping, no consent issues, but there will be a bit of trickery though, so look forward to that!
> 
> Please leave a kudos and comment if you liked this work, thank you for all the support so far!


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